History Main / ThePromise

->'''Tifa:''' Hey, let's make a promise. Umm...if you get really famous...and if I'm ever in a bind...you'll come save me, all right?\\

'''Cloud:''' All right...I promise.

* [[spoiler: Fitoria]] from ''Anime/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'' makes '''very damn certain''' of this, [[spoiler: [[WellIntentionedExtremist regardless of the measures needed to ensure it happens, especially if it involves killing all four of the Cardinal Heroes in order to summon another "Chosen Few" that will work better if need be]] (three of which are already [[FailureHero beyond pathetic]] when it comes to "working together, not making complete asses of themselves and being unbelievably appalling in letting others manipulate them with sheer ease") All of this she made to a Hero from ages long past, someone she doesn't even specifically recall, the only thing she remembers is how memorable/nice he was to her, among other things that she still keeps her promise '''firmly''' to come the time of the current Cardinal Heroes comprised of Ren, Itsuki, Ren, but most important of all... Naofumi.]] [[spoiler: The promise was to ensure all four Cardinal Heroes work together to defeat the Waves, no matter the situation,]] [[spoiler: but even then she recalls a horrific event that she says will occur which will force the Cardinal Heroes to decide which they fight for: The World, or its People, the latter being a '''very''' thorny path... ]]

* [[spoiler: Fitoria]] from ''Anime/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'' makes '''very damn certain''' of this, [[spoiler: [[WellIntentionedExtremist regardless of the measures needed to ensure it happens, especially if it involves killing all four of the Cardinal Heroes]] (three of which are already [[FailureHero beyond pathetic]] when it comes to "working together, not making complete asses of themselves and being unbelievably appalling in letting others manipulate them with sheer ease") All of this she made to a Hero from ages long past, someone she doesn't even specifically recall, the only thing she remembers is how memorable/nice he was to her, among other things that she still keeps her promise '''firmly''' to come the time of the current Cardinal Heroes comprised of Ren, Itsuki, Ren, but most important of all... Naofumi.]] [[spoiler: The promise was to ensure all four Cardinal Heroes work together to defeat the Waves, no matter the situation,]] [[spoiler: but even then she recalls a horrific event that she says will occur which will force the Cardinal Heroes to decide which they fight for: The World, or its People, the latter being a '''very''' thorny path... ]]

* [[spoiler: Fitoria]] from ''Anime/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'' makes '''very damn certain''' of this, [[spoiler: [[WellIntentionedExtremist regardless of the measures needed to ensure it happens, especially if it involves killing all four of the Cardinal Heroes]] (three of which are already [[FailureHero beyond pathetic]] when it comes to "working together, not making complete asses of themselves and being unbelievably appalling in letting others manipulate them with sheer ease") All of this she made to a Hero from ages long past, someone she doesn't even specifically recall, the only thing she remembers is how memorable/nice he was to her, among other things that she still keeps her promise to the time of the current Cardinal Heroes comrpised of Ren, Itsuki, Ren, but most of all... Naofumi. The promise was to ensure all four Cardinal Heroes work together to defeat the Waves, but even then she recalls a horrific event that she says will occur which will force the Cardinal Heroes to decide which they fight for: The World, or its People, the latter being a '''very''' thorny path... ]]

* [[spoiler: Fitoria]] from ''Anime/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'' makes '''very damn certain''' of this, [[spoiler: [[WellIntentionedExtremist regardless of the measures needed to ensure it happens, especially if it involves killing all four of the Cardinal Heroes (three of which are already [[FailureHero beyond pathetic]] when it comes to "working together, not making complete asses of themselves and being unbelievably appalling in letting others manipulate them with sheer ease") All of this she made to a Hero from ages long past, someone she doesn't even specifically recall, the only thing she remembers is how memorable/nice he was to her, among other things that she still keeps her promise to the time of the current Cardinal Heroes comrpised of Ren, Itsuki, Ren, but most of all... Naofumi. The promise was to ensure all four Cardinal Heroes work together to defeat the Waves, but even then she recalls a horrific event that she says will occur which will force the Cardinal Heroes to decide which they fight for: The World, or its People, the latter being a '''very''' thorny path... ]]

--->'''Shinji''':''“I... even if it had been futile, I should have tried. I can’t abandon you like that again, Asuka. So I won’t. Ever.”''\\
'''Asuka''':''“Do you swear, Third? […] You’ve got my back, no matter what?”''\\
'''Shinji''':''“Y-yes. I swear. No matter what.”''

--->'''Asuka''':''“Can you promise me you’ll always be there, Shinji? Promise me you’ll never leave me again?”''

--->'''Asuka''' (softly, in Shinji's ear):''"Shinji?"''\\
'''Shinji''' (softly, in Asuka's ear):''"What is it?"''\\
'''Asuka''':''"You'd never leave us, would you?"''\\

'''Shinji''':''"I promise you, right here and now, that I'll NEVER leave you two...on one condition."''\\
'''Asuka''':''"Which is?"''\\
'''Shinji''':''"You must promise me you won't give up your life anymore like you tried to a few days ago. You're the two most precious things I have on this earth. I can't afford to lose either one of you. You or Teri. So, please, don't ever do that again. I'm sorry if I was rude to you after that, but I really didn't know how to handle it. I mean..."''\\
'''Asuka''' (smiling):''"Don't worry. For Teri's sake, I won't do that again! Deal?"''\\
'''Shinji''' (now smiling, too):''"Deal."''

--->'''Asuka''':''"Well, then, how about another promise?"''\\
'''Shinji''':''"Hey! I'll have to write these all down on a piece of paper or I'll forget them all!"''\\

'''Asuka''' (giggling):''"May God protect us on the battlefield! Neither one of us is gonna die in battle, okay? For each other's sake! And for Teri's!"''\\
'''Shinji''' (cheerfully):''"Yeah! And I swear that I'll protect you if anything happens!"''\\
'''Asuka''' (giggling):''"And I'll do the same for you, too, I swear!"''\\
'''Shinji''':''"Deal!"''\\
'''Asuka''':''"Deal! Let's celebrate that with a drink!"''

-->'''Asuka''':''IF you REALLY want to tie yourself down to that for the rest of your life... IF you can really PROMISE to be true to that-- true to ME-- for as long as you live... Then I will... accept this.''\\
'''Shinji''':''I promise. Asuka.''\\
'''Asuka''':''Think about it-- That's a long time! Can you imagine keeping a promise for sixty or seventy more years!''\\
'''Shinji''':''YES, I promise!''\\
'''Asuka''':''And if you should waiver in the slightest...''\\
'''Shinji''':''I know! I know! I really do promise, Asuka!''\\
'''Asuka'''(blushing):''... You're either a fool... or a liar. And I don't think you are a liar.''

--> "Just tell him that his sister was thinking of him, hoping that someday he'll be able to let go of his anger. His anger at me, at our parents, and at himself."
--> "All right. I'll do my best."
--> "You'd better go then. Please don't forget."
--> "I won't."

-->'''[[TheHero Master Chief]]''': After I'm through with [[BigBad Truth]]...
-->'''Cortana''': Don't make a girl a promise... if you know you can't keep it...

-->'''Cortana''': You found me. But [[BreakTheCutie so much of me is wrong]]... [[MindRape out of place]]... you might be too late...
-->'''Master Chief''': You know me. When I make a promise...
-->'''Cortana''': ...You... keep it. ...I ''do'' know how to pick 'em...
-->'''Master Chief''': Lucky me.

* In VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment, your character can actually do this as a dialogue option. Sometimes, dialogue choices (in some specific, important and dramatic scenes) will have a declaration of intent hidden, such as "Truth", "Lie", and, most importantly, "Make Vow". Those dialogue choices affect your CharacterAlignment: you become more Lawful if you tell the truth, and more Chaotic if you lie.

** Jaune promises [[CannotSpitItOut Pyrrha]] that if she can't get a date to the dance, he'll wear a dress and go with her. Guess what happens.

'''Cloud:''' All right...I promise. [[note]]He [[DoomedHometown eventually makes good]] [[TookALevelInBadass on his promise]], but being Cloud, he shows up a bit late...[[/note]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Jaune promises [[CanNotSpitItOut Pyrrha]] that if she can't get a date to the dance, he'll wear a dress and go with her. Guess what happens.
[[/folder]]

* If Shepard enters into a romantic relationship with Liara in ''Franchise/MassEffect'', at the conclusion of ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', Liara asks Shepard to promise her that s/he's always coming back. S/he does. Both she and Tali beg you to come back after the final battle in VideoGame/MassEffect3. Since it's currently assumed that [=ME3=] is the end of the series (for Shepard), in one out of three endings, with a high enough EMS score, you can assume s/he keeps his/her promise. Who knows what'll happen now that Bioware has broadly hinted that Mass Effect 4 might be worth keeping your saves for though.

* A much darker version appears in ''Manga/TokyoBabylon''.

** They way they talk about it makes it seem like something else...

* ''Manga/PeacemakerKurogane:'' Tetsunosuke promised to his friend Saya that he would not kill.

* ''Anime/ThePlacePromisedInOurEarlyDays'' has such a promise as the entire backbone of its plot.
* In ''Anime/PonyoOnTheCliffByTheSea'',
** Sosuke's father doesn't make it home as he promised.
** Sosuke promised Ponyo to keep her safe, and she's swept away by the sea.
** Sosuke's mother promises she will come back; Sosuke and Ponyo set out in search of her when she doesn't.

* If Shepard enters into a romantic relationship with Liara in ''Franchise/MassEffect'', at the conclusion of ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', Liara asks Shepard to promise her that s/he's always coming back. S/he does. Both she and Tali beg you to come back after the final battle in VideoGame/MassEffect3. Since it's currently assumed that [=ME3=] is the end of the series (for Shepard), in one out of three endings, with a high enough EMS score, you can assume he keeps his promise. Who knows what'll happen now that Bioware has broadly hinted that Mass Effect 4 might be worth keeping your saves for though.

%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.

%%Image pulled per [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1555857737030435700&page=1#comment-1 this]] thread.

[[quoteright:312:[[Webcomic/{{Freefall}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/freefall_promsie_1518.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:312:He seems like a trustworthy guy.]]

* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'': [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=287 Coyote promises Antimony she will not be harmed to lure her]] to the [[LostWoods forest]]. Antimony points out that he's a {{Trickster}} and he finds it hilarous.

Compare: HeroicVow, ChildhoodMarriagePromise, PinkySwear, IfWeSurviveThis. See also EmptyPromise and FrequentlyBrokenUnbreakableVow.

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': Princess Bubblegum makes Finn "royal promise" not to tell anyone about the zombies. He has a hard time keeping it, but eventually he defeats the zombies without telling anyone. When Jake discovers the hacked bodies around him, Finn feels it's alright to tell him. Only it's not: turns out the consequences of breaking a royal promise are [[spoiler: having to face trial by fire at the hands of giant gumball dispensers.]] Luckily, it gets negotiated down to 'trial by math.'

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' has several. A couple of them are found on the PinkySwear page and are explained in more detail there. A non-pinky promise comes during arguably the biggest CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming in the series; when [[MagnificentBastard Lelouch]] realizes how much his friends care about him, he [[ManlyTears tearfully]] promises them that he'll set off fireworks with them again someday. [[spoiler: He doesn't, and when he realises he won't be able to keep this promise, he calls them to apologize and say goodbye.]]

* As of ''Discworld/{{Thud}}'', [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Sam Vimes]] reads the same book to his son at six o'clock, every day, no excuses (because when you have a good excuse, you open the door to bad excuses). As for [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming the one]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome moment]] he can't make it in time...

** Which leads to a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming in the [[VideoGame/{{Halo3}} third game]]:

--> '''[[spoiler:Julius:]]''' ... I will... I promise.
--> '''Soma:''' Thanks. Now I can go into this battle without reservations.
--> '''[[spoiler:Julius:]]''' Farewell, my friend. Don't let me use that whip again.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Solatorobo}}'', Elh promises Red a billion rings if he helps to complete the Rite of Forfeit. [[spoiler:Of course, Elh actually doesn't ''have'' a billion rings and, if the Rite had gone [[HumanSacrifice as it usually did]], Red wouldn't have needed them anyway. Red survived, however, and instead of being angry, he just [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming invited Elh to join his team]] - [[IWasJustPassingThrough ostensibly to work off that debt]], of course, but [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther nobody was fooled]].]]